lohe PAN AME:RICAN UNION 

JOHN BARRETT : : Director General 

FRANCISCO J. YANES : Assistant Director 



EL SALVADOR 



OF THE MAGIC TABLE LANDS 



^ 



Reprinted from the January, 1918, issue 
of the Bulletin of the Pan American Union 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1918 



•VV^S 



EL SALVADOR. OF '/ H 






EACH of us when he sees a map of the world becomes, as it 
were, a magician, a con^m-er. India! and we picture in our 
fancy the mighty River Ganges, or that exquisite archi- 
tectural monument, the Taj Mahal; Peru! and there arises 
in our consciousness an impression of the picturesque land of the In- 
cas; Italy! and perhaps we think of the loveliness of the Bay of Naples 
in the neighborhood of Sorrento. So, too, El Salvador has its nat- 
ural phenomena, its beauty spots for tourists that should be double 
starred in travelers' guide books, its relics of ancient races, its quaint 
and busy cities with their artistic works of architecture. In the 
world there is not a more wonderful volcano than Izalco, which, 
more than four generations ago, ascended from the plains and has 
since remained active. There is not a more wonderful lake in the 
world than Ilopongo, distant about 10 miles from San Salvador, the 
capital, and connected with it by a splendid highway. A fine 
national road which, at one point, cuts the mountain side 800 feet 
above the surface of the lake also comes in from San Vicente. . Ilo- 
pongo is an alluring spot for bathers, for the people of the Republic 
thoroughly appreciate the charms and advantages of their own 
country. It is the watering place for San Salvador, with hotels, 
bath houses, and launches. The surrounding ridges and mountains 
are beautiful and colorful and dip into the lake steeply. Viewing 
this superb sheet of water, with the near-by eminences verdure clad 
or colored by past volcanic eruptions, with drifting clouds casting 
their fleeting shadows upon its surface, one has a feeling that he is 
far from the haunts of man, until perchance his eye lights upon a 
launch far below, sending its ripples over the expanse of waters. 

There are in the world no finer mountain peaks than those of El 
Salvador. The volcanoes Santa Ana, San Miguel, San Vicente, 
Usulutan, Zatecoluca, and San Salvador, rising from Santa Teclas 
and half a hundred others have all the characteristic beauty of the 
symmetrical volcanic eminences elsewhere in Central America. In 
the healthful uplands or mountain basins, where a larger part of 
the population lives, 2,000 feet or more above sea level, are to be 
found tree-shaded cities and rich country districts that in charm and 
interest will repay richly every moment the traveler will spare them. 
The healthful climate gives rise to a vigorous and enterprising popula- 



2 1 By Hamilton M. Wright. 

42091—18 

D. •! 1»« 



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Courtesy of Sr. Atilio Peccorini. 

TWO VIEWS OF THE VOLCANO IZALCO, EL SALVADOR. 

'There are in the world no finer mountain peaks than those of El Salvador. The volcanoes Santa Ana, 
San Miguel, San Vicente, Usulutan, Zatecoluca, and San Salvador, rising from Santa Tecla, and half 
a hundred- others have all the characteristic beauty of the symmetrical volcanic eminences elsewhere in 
Central America." 






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6 EL SALVADOR, OF THE MAGIC TABLE LANDS, 

tion. This little country has a record of having produced 75,000,000 
pounds of coffee in a single year, 1916, perhaps more in earlier periods. 

We did not stop long at La Union, but continued from the port up 
the coast to La Libertad, the nearest seaport to San Salvador. The 
port of La LTnion has been much improved of recent years. The 
fine concrete pier, with commodious warehouses and tracks to ship 
side, is probably the best north of the Panama Canal on the Pacific 
coast of Central America. The old railway line has been taken over 
by an American company, the International Railways of Central 
America. It runs through the important city of San Miguel, having 
attained a mileage, I was told, of almost 100 miles on its way to San 
Salvador. Thus the principal cities of the Republic will be connected 
by a fine system of railroads extending in a general northwest and 
southeast direction (or, rather, more nearly straight east and west) 
for almost its entire length. If it had not been for the war, the pro- 
posed line between Zacapa, Guatemala, and Santa Ana, the second 
city of Salvador, would even now have been completed, I was in- 
formed, and there would exist railway communication between 
New York and the city of San Salvador. The town of La LTnion is 
also connected by main east and west highways extending to the 
Guatemalan border, and with roads running into Honduras. It has 
a population of about 5,000. It is destined to become one of the 
most important cities of San Salvador. Through it come most of the 
imports for the whole east portion of the Republic. 

The rugged coast of El Salvador near La Libertad gives little 
indication of the glories within, of the fertile uplands, the pleasing- 
cities, the lakes and river valleys. Giant hogbacks and mountains 
plunge precipitously to the beach, and the coast appears almost 
deserted save where a valley opens upon the sea or is discerned 
paralleling its course. The placid Pacific as it nears the shore 
gathers itself into mighty breakers which dash upon the beach into 
a Niagara of foam, sending white plumes of spray high into the air. 

At La Libertad we anchored out in the open roadstead a mile and 
one-half from shore and took a coft'ee barge to the pier, where we 
arranged for a conveyance to San Salvador, 40 miles distant by 
automobile road but less than 30 for mules. It is a very short trip 
up to the capital, but the traveler beholds the varied resources and 
climatic changes of an entire continent within the brief journey to 
the uplands. This part of the coast is a center for Peruvian balsam, 
a remedy for pulmonary complaints and so called because in early 
days it was first shipped from Salvador to Peru before being recon- 
signed in through packets to Europe. The tree is found over an 
extended strip up and down the coast. At the present time it 
would not be necessary to send the product by so circuitous a route. 




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VIEWS OF LA LIBERTAD, A PORT OF EL SALVADOR. 

Upper: A general view of the harbor. Lower: The pier which extends out into the Pacific Ocean. La 
Libertad is the principal port for San Salvador, the capital of the Republic, distant by automobile 
road about 40 miles. According to Mr. Wright, "It is a very short trip up to the capital, but the trav- 
eler beholds the varied resources and climatic changes of an entire continent %vithin the brief journey 
to the uplands." 




BALSAM TREES OF EL SALVADOR. 

The valuable product known as Peruvian balsam is really the product ?f a tree that grows in El Salvador. 
These trees with their fine crowns of spreading branches grow to a height of over oO ^et, and besides tlie 
medicinal gum they furnish are valuable for their wood from which excellent building material and 
furniture are m.ade. 



EL SALVADOR, OP THE MAGIC TABLE LANDS. 9 

Indeed, it speaks volumes for the cheapness of transportation and 
handUng of freight that Salvador is able to send coffee down from 
the hills, load it aboard ship by barges, and dispatch it to Havre, 
France, via the Tehuantepec (Mexico) Isthmian railway, in compe- 
tition with the Panama Canal. Yet considerable cargoes of the 
1917 Salvador crop were dispatched to Europe over that route. 
Whether a cargo went via Tehuantepec or via Panama Canal de- 
pended on whether the steamer that was to carry it was bound to 
Panama or up the coast. 

The journey from La Libertad to San Salvador is a fine one and 
the road is good. In fact there are 1,800 miles of through national 
highways in the Republic of Salvador. The roads of San Salvador 
are a national institution. Great work has been done in grading 
and bridge building. Some splendid permanent concrete bridges 
have been constructed. La Libertad, which is also reached by road 
from San Vicente in the east central part of the Republic, is the 
seat of the cable station between North and South America, where 
messages are handled with great dispatch. The roads leading into 
La Libertad are much traversed by oxcarts, as La Libertad is a great 
port for San Salvador. It takes an oxteam with load a day and 
one-half or two days to make the trip from San Salvador. When 
the railroad is constructed from the capital to La Libertad one will 
be easily able to make the trip in an hour. The Government has 
selected the best of several surveys for the route and approved it. 
When this line is built, when La Union is connected by rail with 
San Salvador, and, more than all, when Santa Ana is connected with 
Zacapa, Guatemala, thus enabling travelers to reach Salvador 
speedily from Puerto Barrios on the Atlantic coast side, the wonder- 
ful little Republic of Salvador, with its wealth in minerals and agri- 
culture and its great numbers of intelligent and industrious workers, 
will blossom out as it never has before. And these developments are 
sure to come at no very distant date. The mountain scenery on 
the way to Santa Tecla, 2,650 feet above sea level and but 11 miles 
from San Salvador, is inspiring. The great coast range of moun- 
tains sends out giant spurs and hogbacks to the very shores of the 
Pacific and between these lie numerous watercourses that run to 
the sea. The region, of which the extinct volcano, Quetzaltepeque 
is a magnificent feature, is very mountainous and rugged and is 
intercepted by magnificent and fertile valleys. No doubt from the 
name, Quetzaltepeque, the reader has already inferred that El 
Salvador was also a seat of the interesting Indian civilization of 
Central America which attained its climax centuries before the coming 
of the Spaniards. So it was, and the peaceable and diligent Indian 
population here found is characteristic of that elsewhere in the 
42091—18 2 





Photos by W. V. Alford. 

SCENES IN SANTA TECLA, REPUBLIC OF SALVADOR. 

Upper: A business street in Santa Tecla. Lower: View of a portion of the new parlc in Santa Tecla. 
The town is also known as Neuva San Salvador. It hes at the base of the mighty volcano, SanSal- 
vador, and is connected by rail and bv fine avenues ^'^^th the near-bv capital. The population is given 
at 12,000. 



12 EL SALVADOR, OF THE MAGIC TABLE LANDS, 

Central American highlands, and occurring in greatest numbers in 
Guatemala. In their customs and character these peaceful Indians 
are very much like the devout mission Indians of California, which 
have all but disappeared before the white man. It is to the great 
credit of the civilization established in the New World by Spain 
that it has not resulted in the extinction of the Indian population 
but that these have, indeed, become an industrial factor in their 
communities. 

Santa Tecla, also known as Neuva San Salvador, lies at the base 
of the mighty volcano San Salvador. It is connected by railroad 
and also by a fine avenue with the near-by capital; it will be the 
most important city between San Salvador and La Libertad when 
the railroad spur to that port has been constructed. The city is 
well illuminated at night, has attractive drives, fine public buildings, 
churches, barracks, hospitals, beautiful residences, viUas, and subur- 
ban homes and estates, magnificently kept up, with fine lawns and 
gardens and aU the appurtenances of fashionable country homes. 
From a social viewpoint it is almost a part of San Salvador. Tlie 
city has a population of about 12,000; it owes its origin to an earth- 
quake which overwhelmed the capital about two generations ago. 

There is nothing of the dolce far niente type about San Salvador, 
which, with its environs, has a population of 65,000. With the 
exception of Panama City, San Salvador has more automobiles 
than any other Central American city. Moving pictures, too, are 
popular in the capital and throughout the Republic. Tlie city 
attracts by its beautiful, shaded parks with their fine sculptured 
monuments, the splendid national palace, the cathedral, the National 
University, and the Polytechnic Institute. 

The cathedral presents perhaps more the typical French renais- 
sance style than the typical cathedral in the capitals of the New 
World, though it is a most ornate and beautiful work of architecture. 
Altogether San Salvador has a distinct European note in the air of 
its shops and stores. The broad streets, fine cement curbs, the 
ornate, low-lying buildings with their handsomely grilled and lat- 
ticed windows, the beautiful, semitropical parks with their luxuriant 
foliage and comfortable seats, where the visitor may watch the 
parade of fashion and the many cosmopolitan elements of the city, 
engage in social chat, make new acquaintances, and listen to an 
excellently rendered concert — ^aU these render a stay in the capital 
a pleasant event. If one is disposed to look into the admirably 
conducted national institutions and to study their methods, it is 
likely that his visit will be prolonged far beyond his original inten- 
tion. In the Rosales Hospital the Republic of Salvador has the 
finest Government hospital in Central America. There is a first- 
class medical school, too, in San Salvador, while a varied curriculum 



EL SALVADOR, OF THE MAGIC TABLE LANDS. 15 

of advanced learning is taught at the National University. The 
school for the correction of minors, a large institution, includes use- 
ful vocational training in its instructions, gardening being among 
the features. Agriculture is fostered by the Government which, 
in every way, is solicitous for the welfare of its people. Exhibitions 
of agricultural research, of the work of primary and advanced pupils, 
and of artistic achievements are frequent. Especial interest is taken 
in the graphic arts, the children being very proficient in drawing. 
An advanced art school is devoted to this subject. Working men's 
beneficiary societies are encouraged. In some of the cities there 
are night schools for adults. San Salvador has a night school for 
working women. They are taught how to cook, sew, preserve 
fruits, and perform other home duties. Education is free and 
compulsory, and there are more than 900 schools in the Republic. 
National Flag Day is one of the great patriotic events of El Salvador. 
Santa Ana, which has fine public squares, holds a tree-planting day 
each year. 

Concrete has come to stay in El Salvador, as it has throughout 
Central America. It is used in a wide variety of construction, in 
municipal palaces, theaters, churches, private residences, plazas, and 
city blocks, bridges, reservoirs, street paving, curbs, railway em- 
bankments, and piers. Ice-making plants are coming into wider 
vogue. The telephone system is splendidly equipped either for city 
or cross country caUs and urban districts are closely interconnected, 
I have never seen anyone lose his temper while telephoning, as is so 
frequently the case in the United States. The installation of the 
telegraph lines is part of El Salvador's history. Compared with 
the United States and most other countries telephone and telegraph 
tolls are inexpensive and telegrams are speedily delivered. There 
are almost 2,000 miles of telegraph line. The parcels post, as in 
other Central American countries I have visited, is first class. I 
sent a jaguar skin to California by parcels post for 38 cents gold. 

But we win leave the lovely city of San Salvador perched 2,115 
feet above sea level, above which towers the majestic volcano San 
Salvador, and take the short railroad journey, 40 miles northwest 
to Santa Ana, second city of the Republic and rightly accounted 
one of the leading cities of Central America. Santa Ana will be 
the first important city of Salvador to be reached by rail from the 
north when the line to connect with the Guatemalan systems is 
built. The city has a population of between 45,000 and 50,000 and 
an elevation of 2,100 feet. It is a lively, prosperous, well-ordered 
community, with an air of assured stability. Its business houses 
are many. It has a fine barracks and one of the most beautiful 
churches in Central America. It is, as well, an educational center. 
Its streets are well-paved and curbed. Some of them are almost 





DORMITORIES OF THE NEW TUBERCULOSIS SANITARIUM, SAN SALVADOR. 

The inaugui'ation of these pavilions, one a dormitory and the other for day use, which form part of the 
new tuberculosis sanitarium, took place in 1914, other structm-es having been completed since that 
date. Senor Dr. Rafael Zaldivar, Salvadorean minister to the United States, was the prime mover 
and founder of the institution and is president of the board of directors. Don Salvador Sol , a capitalist 
and leading citizen of the Republic, donated from his private fortrme the sum of 25,000 pesos for the 
buildings, and in recognition of his generosity and great personal interest has been given the title of 
"Protector of the Sanitarium." The A-arious buildings of the institution are constructed principally 
of reinforced concrete, the walls and roofs being so built that with the scientific ventilation installed 
the interiors are kept at a cool and equable temperature. It is located near the city of San Salvador, 
with which it is connected by a well-kept public automobile road. The site was formerly the loca- 
tion of a fine plantation, or "finca" known as "La Perla" (The Pearl). 





THE ROSALES HOSPITAL, SAN SALVADOR. 

Top: The main building of the hospital, the approach to which is ornamented by a fine statue in bronze 
of the generous benefactor, Jose Kosales, who was the founder of the institution. The marble pedestal 
of this splendid monument is decorated by the sculptured group depicting a sister of charity ministering 
to a sulfering woman. Bottom: One of the two annexes of the hospital which flank it on both sides, 
one being for male and the other for female patients. 



18 EL SALVADOR, OF THE MAGIC TABLE LANDS. 

as steeply inclined as those of San Francisco, Cal. The architecture 
of its largest theater building illustrates admirably how attractive 
the exterior of a squarely shaped orthodox structure may be made. 

The climate is as nearly ideal as any you may find in the world. 
The citv is well lighted. Moving pictures are popular. 

Santa Ana is a center for agricultural produce, including coffee 
and sugar. It is also much visited by mining men, there being iron, 
copper, and silver deposits in the region. All told there are almost 
200 hundred mines in the Republic, Morazan Province being in the 
lead. A number of Americans who have taken a part in the de- 
velopment of the mineral resources of Colorado, Nevada, CaUfornia, 
and Alaska are interested in El Salvador's mineral development. 
British capital has, too, been engaged. Chief among the Americans 
to develop the mineral resources of Salvador is Mr. Charles Butters, 
of Berkeley, Cal. Mr. Butters's fair treatment of his workers, his 
progressive mining methods, and his scrupulous fidelity to every 
undertaking has made him a most popular figure in Salvador. 

Undoubtedly the topography of El Salvador has made it a favored 
region for the agriculturist. Its large inland basins and valleys have 
a wonderfully productive soil and a great part of them may truth- 
fully be described as genuine bottom lands. The great river Lempa, 
which flows through El Salvador in a circuitous course, for more than 
200 miles, enters the Republic from Honduras, winds down toward 
Santa Ana, from which an effluent drains into it; turns away again, 
in a V, to the Honduras border, constituting for a part of its length 
the boundary between the two countries. Then, in a sudden sweep, 
it turns at right angles to its former course and flows to the Pacific 
Ocean, into which it debouches through a break in the coast range 
of mountains, entering the sea from a fertile plain. A thousand 
streams drain into the Lempa and a thousand valleys and basms 
open upon it. Though, for a part of its course, it is separated from 
the Pacific by two ranges of mountains and a high table land, thickly 
populated, it nevertheless is an asset of the whole Repubhc. 

Most plant products of the semitropics and subtropics — at least 
practicaUy all that people consume as food — and many grains and 
fruits of the Temperate Zone are produced. Coffee is El Salvador's 
chief crop. But it produces also sugar cane, cotton, cacao, rubber, 
indigo, peanuts, beans, castor-oil beans, hemp, maize, flax, yams, 
aU sorts of vegetables, and very exceUent tobacco. Wheat, oats, 
rye, and barley can be grown in the higlilands. The Government, 
through the agricultural college, has done a great deal to stimulate 
cotton growmg, and the production of grains, vegetable oils, etc. 
There is any amount of fine timber in El Salvador, for the country 
is by no means entirely cultivated. Although it is the most 
densely populated nation on the Western Continents — the population 



EL SALVADOR, OF THE MAGIC TABLE LANDS. 21 

has been rated as high as 180 persons to the square mile — there are 
still great unpopulated or sparsely populated stretches. There are 
bold mountain sides, rough stretches in the Pacific coast country, 
extensive forested areas in the Cordilleras and river bottoms, and 
uplands where few persons are to be found. The population is about 
1,300,000. It is certain that the Repubhc can, and some day will, 
support milhons more in comfort. And yet El Salvador is only 140 
miles long and 60 miles in width. How deceptive these dimensions 
may become is apparent to anyone who travels within the Republic. 
One could travel in Salvador for months and discover many new and 
interesting features each day. 

It would be quite surprising, in virtue of the generous spirit of the 
people, if it were not a pleasure to travel in El Salvador. It is; and, 
incidentally, the hotels are usually good and the prices moderate. 
Meat is cheap, for cattle are plentiful in many parts of the RepubUc; 
chickens are always to be had and, often, turkeys. Venison is by 
no means a rarity. Unless one expects to stop at a hotel, he need 
not expect to pay for his meals, however. It is more than probable 
that his hosts would be offended if he offered to do so. The Indians 
are as hospitably inclined as are the Salvadoreans, though they, 
of course, are not usually able to extend any very extensive hospi- 
tahty. Yet one of them will go out of his way a mile to show you 
the right road. 

The colorful life disclosed by a journey in the interior, the pictur- 
esque colors in attire favored by the girls and young women, the 
heavy road traffic in many regions, and the dispatch and certainty 
with which agriculture and industry is conducted finds its counter- 
part in interest in the dash of official and army life in the cities, the 
many social pleasures, excellent Government institutions, and the 
commercial enterprises. There are more than 85,000 officers and 
men, including reserve forces, in the army of El Salvador. Undoubt- 
edly the army training has done much to elevate the standard of citi- 
zenship. The Polytechnic Institute, a training school for officers in 
San Salvador, produces a very fine type of young men. As in the case 
of most of the Central American countries, military training is pat- 
terned on European lines, and capable instructors have been engaged 
from Europe. The young men study chemistry, physics, mathe- 
matics, and applied trades, so that they constitute an intelligent addi- 
tion to the country's industries. They are also given physical train- 
ing and training in the handling of men, artillery maneuvers, etc. 
The commandantes are glad to have visitors shown through the bar- 
racks, which are kept scrupulously neat and clean, and in which all 
from the commanding officer to the humblest private take great pride. 
As in Guatemala, many of the soldiers are Indians who make hardy and 
willing- soldiers. Uniforms for the army are made in the prisons. 




Photo by W. V. Alford. 



LEAF OF THE BANANA PLANT. 



The banana plants in Salvador are not only noted for their enormous size but for the quality of their fruit 

as well. 




24 EL SALVADOE, OF THE MAGIC TABLE LANE ® ^15 843 626 7 



A visit to a military barracks is always a pleasant and interesting 
experience. 

Leaving Santa Ana we journey to Sonsonate on the way to Aca- 
jiitla, the principal seaport of Salvador. Sonsonate has a number 
of important manufactures, and railroad shops are located there. 
The great cathedral of Sonsonate is a magnificent specimen of Span- 
ish ecclesiastical architecture rivaling in symmetry and massiveness 
the finest of Philippine cathedrals. Sonsonate is the center of an 
important cattle and agi-iculture district. The climate is much 
warmer than in the interior higlilands. The city produces cotton 
cloth, boots and shoes, mats, baskets, and pottery. It has a good 
hotel with baths where visitors may stop. The railway, which 
means so much to Sonsonate, and, in fact, to a considerable part 
of the Republic, was opened up between Sonsonate and Acajutla 
35 years ago. There are about 200 miles of railways in Salvador 
at the present time. A survey of the mileage contemplated includes 
the following: Salvador frontier to Santa Ana, 50; Santa Ana to 
Ahuachapan, 27; San Salvador to Zatecoluca, 56; to connect with 
Honduras, about 20 miles. A line through Honduras to the frontier 
of Nicaragua would take 88 miles; the line from Zacapa, Guatemala, 
to the Salvador frontier will require 55 miles of construction. 

History has cast its early glamor over this admirable country. 
San Salvador, the capital, was founded in 1528 by Don Jorge de 
Alvarado at a spot near the present site, to which it was transferred 
11 years later. Throughout the country there are many evidences 
of this long-established civilization — works of art, carvings, mural 
paintings, furniture, and rare old books. For centuries the sciences, 
including astronomy, have been diligently pursued in study and a 
high cultural standard maintained. In earliest Spanish days San 
Salvador was recognized by world travelers as a center of culture 
and of civilization in the West. Of later eventful history there are 
many reminders. In the beautiful Morazan Park, in the capital, 
is a magnificent equestrian statue to Gen. Morazan, the last presi- 
dent of the Central American Republic. Here, too, is the beautiful 
Duenas Park, so named for the famous president, with its monu- 
ment to liberty, while Barrios Park has another name illustrious in 
the annals of Central America. And throughout the Republic one 
w^ill find memorials of those whose efforts helped to found this lasting 
civilization. 

But we must leave Salvador, country of magic table-lands, majes- 
tic mountains, crater lakes, fertile fields, beautiful palm-bordered 
boulevards, and attractive cities. As we leave the long wharf at 
Acajutla, with our friends bidding us bon voyage, we envy those 
who have not seen Salvador and still have an early journey in 
prospect. 



■ih'.^S'^"^ Of" CONGRESS 

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